| Abstrakt: |
Background T cells are shown to regulate allergy and asthma. They are heterogeneous by virtue of surface receptor subtypes (αβ and γδ receptors), however, their patho-physiological roles in asthma are unclear. Objective and methods The present study employed flow cytometric analysis to compare the size of T-cell subsets and eosinophils present in the peripheral blood of healthy, allergic and allergic asthmatic individuals. Results Current results demonstrated that the percentages of γδ T cells declined from 4.1% in healthy to 3.2% in the allergic subjects and to a significantly lower (P=0.01) 2.4% in allergic asthmatics. The absolute numbers of circulating γδ T cells also were diminished in a similar fashion such that healthy individuals had a significantly higher mean cell count (91.8 × 10³/mL) than did allergic asthmatics (47.8 × 10³/mL) (P= 0.0266). In contrast, αβ T cells were comparable in the healthy, allergic, and allergic asthmatic populations (65.3%, 65.8% and 69.4%, respectively); the differences were not statistically significant. On a populational basis, the proportion of individuals having both γδ T cells ⩽ 4.1% and eosinophils ⩾ 2.1% was the lowest in the healthy population (30.8%), but was elevated in the allergic group (85.7%) as well as in the allergic asthmatic group (86.6%). However, on an individual basis, those who had reduced γδ T cells did not have consistently higher eosinophil counts or IgE level. Conclusion It was concluded that no significant correlation existed between the levels between γδ T cells and eosinophils or between γδ T cells and IgE present in the peripheral blood. This report, for the first time, documents that allergic asthmatics have reduced γδ T cells with reciprocally elevated eosinophil numbers in their peripheral circulation. However, it does not indicate that the reduction of γδ T cells directly correlates with the predominance of eosinophils of IgE levels in the diseased populations. The pathophysiological role of γδ T cells in allergic diseases awaits further exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
